The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
VOLUME 139 NO. 57
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1998, The Miami Student reported the percentage of Miami University students earning undergraduate degrees within five years was 77 percent, the
lowest level in six years. The Student reported this rate correlated to a study released by the American College Testing Program that stated this rate was at an all-time low nationwide.
Miami ranks as costliest US public university By Katie Sallach For the Miami Student
The United States Department of Education has started posting online net costs of universities across the country, and Miami University sits at the top of the public university list with a net cost of $22,303. However, according to Vice President for Finance and Business Services David Creamer there are a lot of factors that contribute to Miami’s seemingly high net cost. Creamer said the first thing to remember is that net cost includes the average total cost of living and attending Miami with the average financial aid subtracted. This includes the average cost of books, travel, entertainment, room and board as well as other costs. According to Creamer, Miami is a highly residential campus compared to other universities. Since more students live on campus at Miami than at other schools, residential costs are often higher at Miami than at schools with fewer students living on campus.
First year Sarah Ross said since Miami requires all students to live on campus until at least their second year it creates additional unnecessary costs. “I know that many universities do not require students to live on campus past their freshman year,” Ross said. “I wish this was the case at Miami, since many off campus living options are less expensive than dorms.” Net cost also includes an estimation of costs for other expenses such as transportation and entertainment, which, according to Associate Director of University Communications Claire Wagner, Miami estimates very high as courtesy for parents and students so they can plan more effectively for costs. Miami estimated for the 2011-2012 school year the average cost for other expenses is $6,743, higher than the actual average, affecting the calculation of total net cost for Miami. Another factor to consider when looking at Miami’s ranking is the amount of state funding for Ohio schools. Ohio’s state legislatures decided a long time ago that the amount
of state supported funding for schools would be low. Ohio’s state funding for schools is well behind other states, with funding consistently in the lower 10 percent, according to Creamer. Economics Professor James Brock said he thinks there are other more fixable reasons for why the net cost at Miami is so high. “I also think, however, that we have a burgeoning and costly mass of bureaucracy exploding between the faculty and the students we teach,” Brock said. “Just look at the trend here over the past decade or so, when the number of full time administrative positions has increased at a percentage rate many times greater than the single digit percentage increase in the number of faculty.” According to Brock, another reason Miami’s net cost is so high is because of the ineffective way Miami hires and pays teachers. “Another key driver of costs is that we’re paying faculty more but requiring them to teach fewer courses, and then hiring visiting instructors to teach the classes the tenure-track
LISA GEHRING THE MIAMI STUDENT
CELEBRATING SPRING IN STYLE
Students celebrate Campus Activity Council’s SpringFest Thursday afternoon.
faculty aren’t teaching, effectively requiring the students to pay twice for teaching,” Brock said. Both Creamer and Wagner agree the value of Miami is also a significant reason why Miami has the highest net cost of public schools. “Even though we are ranked as the highest net cost, we also keep getting ranked as having a good value,” Wagner said. “Our students are known for graduating on time, and a lot of our money goes towards instruction and student support.” According to Creamer, at schools with lower net costs you will find larger class sizes, more part time faculty and fewer activities when compared to Miami. Creamer said the great value Miami has to offer will keep students and parents interested in Miami regardless of its ranking of highest net cost. “I think that most families are evaluating schools more holistically, and are looking at the value of schools in addition to the cost,” Creamer said. Wagner agreed while the ranking may deter some students from applying to Miami, she hopes most families will be able to look past the cost. “I think it will cause students and parents to dig deeper as they’re looking into Miami, and consider the value instead of just the cost,” Wagner said. Sophomore Audrey Altieri said the quality of Miami is worth the cost. “I think that when people first see this ranking they might be a little skeptical of Miami, but there are a lot of factors that go into that ranking that also make Miami a better school than ones that are cutting too far back
on costs,” Altieri said. Other students are not so accepting of Miami’s increasing expenses. Miami junior Wendy Swartz said she thinks Miami should increase its amount of scholarship and financial aid money. “I feel like its very unfair,” Swartz said. “I don’t come from the typical Miami family income and even though my grades are good, I attend class daily and study, even more scholarship and grant requirements are becoming ridiculous and its getting harder to access them at Miami. I just want the same opportunities for myself as everyone else.” Ross agreed more financial assistance would be helpful. “I also wish that they offered more scholarship opportunities for transfer students and current students,” Ross said. According to Creamer, the ranking can also be somewhat misleading when it comes to cost increase in public schools. While Miami currently has the highest net cost of public schools, the university has actually frozen tuition for the past two years while other public schools across the country, including Pennsylvania State University, West Virginia University, Michigan State University and Washington State University continue to increase their tuition. According to tuition data provided by Creamer of multiple schools from the 2006-2007 school year in comparison to this school year, prior to being frozen for the past two years, Miami’s tuition increased by $1,243.
Cost,
SEE PAGE 5
MU to continue Accenture contract State shies away from ‘charter university’ plan By Jenn Smola Campus Editor
By Libby Mueller Senior Staff Writer
Miami University had the chance to become a partially private institution, known as a “charter school,” due to a proposal forwarded by the Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro last year, but the potential of Miami becoming a charter university is now off the table. David Creamer, vice president of finance and business services, said there was an expectation the legislation would be introduced sometime after January. “[Legislation concerning charter schools] would have affected all of the public universities in Ohio,” Creamer said. However, it appears all 14 public universities in Ohio will remain as they are, according to Creamer. “The governor has decided not to put forward any legislation after some consultation with leadership in the Ohio General Assembly,” Creamer said. “There wasn’t any support.” Miami President David Hodge
said the proposal would have given Miami more power in decision-making. “We were supportive of those parts of the proposal that gave us more flexibility,” Hodge said. However, the freedom from government regulation would have come at a price, according to Hodge. “Initially, at least, the state would give us less money in return,” Hodge said. One of the widely debated advantages of becoming a “charter school” for Miami as an institution would have been partial freedom in the setting of tuition price, which is currently under the control of the Ohio General Assembly, Creamer said. However, this freedom would not necessarily have resulted in a tuition increase, Creamer said. Senior Will Sheets said he does not see the point in Miami
HITTING THE HIGH NOTE
ENTERPRISE, SEE PAGE 5
Though Miami University’s plan to restructure Information Technology (IT) Services through a partnership with the consulting firm Accenture has saved only half the original $3.7 million savings estimate, the university still plans to carry out its agreement with the firm and continue restructuring. According to David Creamer, vice president for finance and business services, the decision to keep Academic Institutional Technology Services (AITS) separate from Central IT and Administrative IT will decrease the number of dollars the university originally planned on saving with the help of Accenture. “There was some reduction in savings in the IT piece for not proceeding with the academic change,” Creamer said. Creamer said the university originally expected to save a total of $3.2 million on the low end and $3.7 million on the high end with the agreement, but that number has since shrunk. “There’s still about $1.8 million in cost reductions that [Accenture]
expect[s] to achieve for the Oxford campus,” Creamer said. Accenture cost $3 million to bring in. This is not the first contract Miami has had with Accenture. According to Rebecca Luzadis, chair of University Senate’s Fiscal Priorities and Budget Planning Committee, Miami had a contract with Accenture to work with its purchasing department to prioritize strategic sourcing. With that contract, Miami was able to opt out of the contract early and save money, Creamer and Luzadis said. Creamer said the university had received all the benefits and support necessary to carry on without Accenture. According to Creamer, by making this decision, Miami was able to spend only $595,000 on the project as opposed to the $1.465 million it would have cost in total. According to Luzadis, Miami employees had already learned so much from Accenture the university felt it could continue without the firm’s assistance. “That was cost-saving for us that was really fortunate,” Luzadis said. While the same type of opt-out
The Miami University Glee Club performs Thursday evening in Hall Auditorium for its annual “Home Concert.”
opportunity exists in Miami’s contract with Accenture to restructure IT, Creamer said the university is not considering changing any plans with Accenture despite the recent decrease in estimated savings. “There is no consideration of any significant changes in the IT contract,” Creamer said. First-year Liz Burby said while the intrinsic value of the agreement is still present, Miami could have handled the situation differently and cut costs in a different way. “I feel like they could have figured this out in a much better way,” Burby said. While the university will not save the original $3.2 million estimated with the IT restructuring, Miami officials still think the changes and savings will be worth it. Cathy McVey, senior director of strategic communication, said with the decision to leave AITS out of the restructuring process, the focus of the project has shifted, but the changes will still be valuable in the long run. “I think we’re making very
ACCENTURE, SEE PAGE 5
RICHARD MANDIMIKA THE MIAMI STUDENT